VIKINGS chairman Tony Chambers revealed his ecstasy after his club managed to avoid relegation on the final day of the regular Super League season.

Mr Chambers stressed his 'major relief' after averting the drop from the top flight that would have cost the club up to #1m in losses.

He said: 'To say it's a major relief is an understatement. There has been a lot of stress around the club for weeks and you could see by everyone's reaction when the final whistle went what it really meant to us all - the fans, players, coaches and the board.'

Although Widnes escaped through the trap door in the form of Castleford being convincingly defeated by Wakefield and Widnes presiding a two point loss at the KC Stadium, Mr Chambers is under no illusions that a massive rebuilding job is in store for whoever takes the reins.

And the chairman, who has been at the helm for more than eight years, identifies the need to strengthen both on and off the pitch.

Mr Chambers said: 'Firstly we need to appoint a coach, which is priority, and assemble a strong squad of players that can compete in Super League. But also, we need to look at creating more sales and focus on selling - creating more revenue to build on what we have.

'We have had an average gate of about 6,200 and will be looking to push that up with the selling of season tickets.'

The club received a timely boost of #200,000, courtesy of Halton Borough Council, which involves the restruc-turing of the lease under which the Vikings occupy the Halton Stadium.

However, Mr Chambers revealed that half of that cash will be used to bring in quality players for the new campaign.

He added: 'We certainly don't want to be in this position again and we are currently looking at ways to increase income through sponsors to make additions to the squad.'

The man Mr Chambers is banking on to be head coach for Super League's 10th anniversary season is Frank Endacott, who would be accompanied by Widnesian Stuart Spruce, but the club have to wait seven days for a response from the former Kiwi Test coach.

Endacott said: 'I won't let this linger on - I'll give them a definite answer in a week.

'I do have some doubts to be honest with my other business interest in New Zealand but believe me, I'll be trying everything I can.